Just the way you are
by KHwhitelion
Summary: Danny has dealt with all sorts of things in his life--battling ghosts, losing someone close....and falling in true love. However, what he HASN'T experiencing with before is dealing with a daughter who seems to be convinced she's a disgrace to her family


**I felt like writing a one-shot using one of my next generation characters, so why not start with Danny's daughter? That. And this was based on a picture I drew of the two of them. It's really sweet, and can be found in my gallery on Deviantart (username is still the same) **

**That aside, the reason I used this particular version of Danny's kid (I also gave him two sons, but in a different pairing) was because I love the relationship between these two. **

**Anyway, enjoy!! **

Danny sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly as he flew through towards his home. It had been a long and very tiring day. The amount of ghosts had been declining over the years, but with the recent absence of his wife, they had been slowly regaining their confidence, and began appearing more frequently. Danny didn't really mind—he knew he could take them on—but it still wore him out nonetheless.

Wiping the sweat from his brow with a gloved hand, Danny Phantom changed his aerial direction and began flying downward, catching his house at the corner of his eye. Whispering the words "change back" under his breath, two glowing rings appeared around his body, transforming his ghostly body into his human one as his feet touched the ground.

"It's good to be home," he breathed, slumping against the doorway as it slammed behind him. While his powers had increased dramatically after he'd reached adulthood, he'd gotten accustomed to fighting against the various Ghost Zone inhabitants as a team with his wife. Now that she was away for the week, he'd gone back to flying solo, it was slightly larger amount of work then he'd remembered….

Suddenly, he gasped, a large blue wisp of smoke spiraling from his mouth. _My ghost sense?_ He thought, blue eyes darting about. A few years ago, any activation of his ghost sense would have been immediate cause for alarm. However, since marrying and starting a family of his own, it wasn't uncommon for a member of said family to cause the wispy blue strand of smoke to activate. They all possessed an amount of ectoplasm infused in their DNA. And since he'd already 'cleaned up' Amity Park for the day, that meant there _had_ to be a family member nearby. And seeing as to how Danni was in Wisconsin at the moment, there was only one other person who could….

"Diane?" He called abruptly, raising his head.

No answer.

_Well, that's odd,_ he speculated, brushing back a long strand that had come loose from his ponytail. Diane usually always answered when she heard her name. And there was no mistake, he knew, that she was here. So why she didn't respond was a….

"Diane?" Danny tried once more, springing from his position against the door, "Diane, honey, where are you?" He was determined to keep a cool head, but Diane's lack of response was beginning to worry him. _Calm down Danny, _he told himself, _she's got to be around here somewhere. _He knew he was overreacting—fourteen years of fatherhood had increased his childhood paranoia a great deal—but she wasn't answering his calls, and as such, Danny came to the conclusion he'd just have to go look for her.

Using his ghost sense as a guide, Danny began searching the various rooms in his house he figured Diane would be. Bedroom, bathroom, family room—each time he felt he was getting close, his ghost sense would either die down, or change the direction it came from his mouth, leading the raven-haired man to a dead end. Yet, when he was making his way down the stairs he heard a faint but distinct _sobbing_ sound. And it sounded close.

Not bothering to change into a ghost, Danny willed himself intangible, slipping through the rest of the staircase with ease until he found himself at the side of it—a darker, shadowed side that could hide anyone sitting behind it. And sure enough, looking down, he realized he'd found the source of the sobbing. Seated next to him, but completely unaware of his presence, was a white-haired, fourteen year old girl, seated against the staircase, clutching her legs to her chest, head buried in her knees. Her frail body was shaking as she took sharp, quick breathes—obviously crying. Danny gasped, his previous worry resurfacing as he stared in shock at his daughter.

"D-Diane?" He cried, his eyes widening. The girl—Diane—flinched, startled at hearing her father's voice, and her head shot up. Danny had been prepared to continue speaking, but when he met his daughter's watery eyes, all speech died on his tongue, and a pang of pain struck his heart. Saying nothing, he kneeled down beside her, reaching out and touched her shoulder. "Diane…." He tried again, his voice lower, "honey, what's wrong?"

She remained silent, averting her eyes and attempting to pull free from her father's grasp. But Danny held on tightly, aware of the 'Fenton stubbornness' she inherited and determined to get her past it. "Don't do that." He stated, searching her expression for a hint of recognition, "don't pretend you don't need my help."

Still no response, just a sharp hiccupping sound as another set of tears poured from Diane's pale blue eyes. Danny sighed again, temporarily closing his own eyes. "Look…." The ghost-man began, "….I was just like you at your age—I kept everything to myself—determined to solve not only my problems but the problems of others as well. But…." And here he hesitated "….in the end….it almost destroyed me." As Danny finished his speech, his eyes opened, and he noticed he had finally captured his daughter's attention, as she was staring at him in a state of disbelief. He smiled, raising a hand to brush her snow-colored bangs out of her face. "I know you're strong, Diane," he said, "after all, you're a lot like I was at your age—"

Then something happened Danny didn't expect. Just when he thought he had finally reached her, Diane began to cry harder than before, and hastily stood up—preparing, Danny realized, to run off somewhere. However, he reacted quickly, catching both her arms before she had the chance to get away. The girl struggled for a moment or two, determined to break free from Danny's hold on her. However, after a moment or two, she gave up, resorting to covering her face with her hands out of not only sadness but shame she had even attempted to get away from him.

Danny watched her, giving the girl a moment to pull herself together—if ever so slightly—before attempting to resume conversation. But once again, she surprised him.

"I-I….I'm n-n-nothing like….l-like you…."

Danny blinked, "What?"

Diane shook her head. "You're….you're w-wrong….I-I'm not l-like you at….at all."

It suddenly dawned on the ghost-man what she was talking about. "W-What?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'not like me?' Diane, you're_ just_ like me."

She shook her head again. "N-no I'm n-not…." She blubbered, "I—I'm a….a disgrace….a f-failure…."

Though he'd been filled with anxiety since encountering his daughter, upon hearing _that_ statement, Danny was suddenly filled with anger. "A disgrace?! A failure?! Diane what the hel—_heck_ would make you _say_ such a thing!?"

Diane yelped, forcing the man to calm himself down. "Diane….honey….where….where did you get an idea that you were all of those terrible things?"

Something seemed to snap in Diane's head and a violent expression flashed in her blue eyes. "It's _not_ an idea, dad! It's true! I mean, _look_ at me!" She barked, gesturing to herself despite her father's hands holding her arms, "I'm some kind of f-freak!" She tugged at her hair then, fresh tears brimming in her sapphire pupils. "My hair, my eyes….I _barely_ have any ghost powers…. I'm _nothing_ like you! _Or_ mom!" A harsh sob prevented he from going any further, and the tears began streaming down her cheeks once more, in front of her father—too horror struck to utter a single word.

They stood there for some time—father and daughter—in a silence that was broken only by Diane's punctuated sobs. But after a moment or two, the hysterical young girl spoke again.

"D-do you know….h-how humiliating i-it is when ev….everyone at your school k-knows you're t-the daughter of Danny and Danielle P-Phantom….and….and…."

"And _what_?" Danny chimed in, his parenting skills pulling him from his lulled state.

Diane bit her lip, once again looking away from her father. Danny pulled her towards him, sensing what his daughter was going to say next. "Diane, come on. I'm your _father_, remember? You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" The girl nodded, though she still refused to look at Danny.

"….Everyone….everyone m-makes fun of me…." She stammered, her hands clenching together,  
"They're….they're always saying I-I….I'm worthless….that….that y-you and mom….that you think I'm a disappointment….because I-I….well…." her voice trailed off, and she hung her head. "dad….I'm sor—"

"That's _ridiculous_."

Diane looked up. "W-what?"

The halfa-man smiled. "'That's ridiculous.'" He echoed. "Your mother and I _love_ you, Diane. We always have. No matter what any of those high school kids say about you—or _us_ for that matter. You're _not_ a disgrace, a failure, and we're certainly not disappointed in you." His expression softened then, and he pulled the white-haired girl into a hug. "Diane, you're our _daughter_. Just by being born you've made us the happiest people alive." He laughed then, but it was one of sincerity and contentment. "Danni and I don't _care_ if you have ghost powers or not. We love you just the way you are. And no matter what any of those….bastards….Casper High think or say about you, that isn't going to change. Besides," and here, he winked, "if people continue to give you a hard time, I know you have enough ghostly power in you to _put them in their place_." He hugged her again, and she laughed, still crying, but this time, from the happiness and reassurance she'd just received.

"Just don't tell your mother I said that." He whispered, as the two stepped apart.

Diane nodded, a smile gracing her lips as she thought of her mother's reaction to her father permitting her of her powers for pay back. "I won't, daddy."

**So?? What do you think? I bet a lot of people were expecting Diane to be either a DannyxSam child or a DannyxValerie child….well, surprise!! Yeah it's weird, but I kinda like DannyxDanni. They're not related OR the same person, even though Danni's a clone, she ISN'T Danny….**

**I still prefer DannixDan, but whatever XD**

**Review, people!!!!!**


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